Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission at its open meeting today approved the following final rule and proposed rules:

Final Rule: Reporting and Information Requirements for Derivatives Clearing Organizations

The Commission unanimously approved a final rule amending certain reporting and information regulations applicable to derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs). These amendments, among other things, update information requirements associated with commingling customer funds and positions in futures and swaps in the same account, revise certain daily and event-specific reporting requirements in § 39.19(c), and codify in an appendix the fields that a DCO is required to provide on a daily basis under § 39.19(c)(1). In addition, the Commission is adopting amendments to certain delegation provisions in § 140.94.

The final rule is effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. DCOs must comply with the amendments to § 39.19 and appendix C 18 months after publication in the Federal Register. DCOs must comply with the amendments to all other rules 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Proposed Rule: Swap Confirmation Requirements for Swap Execution Facilities

The Commission unanimously approved a rule proposal to amend its swap execution facility (SEF) regulations related to uncleared swap confirmations, as well as associated conforming and technical changes.

This proposed rule has a 60-day comment period after publication in the Federal Register.

Proposed Rule: Amendments to Provisions Common to Registered Entities

The Commission approved the proposed rule to amend Part 40 of the Commission’s regulations. The regulations in Part 40 implement Section 5c(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act and govern how registered entities submit self-certifications, and requests for approval, of their rules, rule amendments, and new products for trading and clearing, as well as the Commission’s review and processing of such submissions. The proposed amendments are intended to clarify, simplify and enhance the utility of the Part 40 regulations for market participants and the Commission.

This proposed rule has a 60-day comment period after publication in the Federal Register. 

Proposed Rule: Margin Requirements for Uncleared Swaps for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants

The Commission approved the proposed rule to amend the margin requirements for uncleared swaps applicable to swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs) for which there is no prudential regulator. The proposed amendment would revise the definition of “margin affiliate” to provide that certain collective investment vehicles (investment funds or funds) that receive all of their start-up capital, or a portion thereof, from a sponsor entity (seeded funds) would be deemed not to have any margin affiliates for the purposes of calculating certain thresholds that trigger the requirement to exchange initial margin (IM) for uncleared swaps. This proposed amendment would effectively relieve SDs and MSPs from the requirement to post and collect IM with certain eligible seeded funds for their uncleared swaps for a period of up to three years from the date on which the eligible seeded fund’s asset manager first begins making investments on behalf of the fund (trading inception date). The Commission is also proposing to eliminate a provision disqualifying the securities issued by certain pooled investment funds (money market and similar funds) that transfer their assets through securities lending, securities borrowing, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, and similar arrangements from being used as eligible IM collateral, thereby expanding the scope of assets that qualify as eligible collateral. Additionally, the Commission is proposing an amendment to the haircut schedule set forth in Commission Regulation 23.156(a)(3)(i)(B) to add a footnote that was inadvertently omitted when the rule was originally promulgated.

This proposed rule has a 60-day comment period after publication in the Federal Register. 

Additional information on these rulemakings, including statements of the Chairman and the Commissioners, is available here.